Where the intimidating four-story, windowless “Blue Cube” once dealt with the most secretive of top secrets, today sits a college building ready and willing to dispense information freely to attentive students.

It’s now called the Foothill Sunnyvale College Center, and on Sept. 26 it is scheduled to open to more than 1,600 students. The old Onizuka Air Force Station has been transformed into a campus of the Foothill-De Anza Community College District.

Although the building—which is painted bright blue on the side facing the street—is new, the school pays homage to the history of the Onizuka Air Force Station at every turn. The station was built in 1960 as the Air Force Satellite Test Center and in 1994 was named after astronaut Ellison Onizuka, who died in the Challenger space shuttle disaster.

The station, which was involved in various aerospace projects and tracked satellites during the Cold War, became famous in the region for its fortress-like blue building, accessible to only those with special clearance. Though officially called Building 1003, Bay Area residents long knew it as the “Blue Cube.” In 2010 the station was closed and the cube was demolished four years later.

The walkways leading from the parking lot to the campus are speckled with flecks of blue paint harvested from the cube. Once inside, there is the Onizuka Cafe for hungry students and the Satellite Lounge next door for relaxation and study.

Two murals that previously had been inside the cube are now hung in campus hallways. One features the Challenger shuttle with a memorial poem. The other is signed by all former employees of the Onizuka Air Force Station and coincidentally features a large owl—Foothill’s mascot—with a lightning bolt in its talons.

“It was meant to be,” said Andrea Hanstein, director of marketing and public relations for Foothill College.

According to Hanstein, college and air station staff members went on a tour of the facility prior to the cube’s demolition and pointed out items to save. Artifacts taken from the cube, including aerospace models and signs, are displayed on the second floor in glass cases.

The campus building is two stories tall and houses 23 classrooms, a small library, admissions services, counseling and tutoring. The school is partnering with nearby tech companies such as Google, Juniper Networks and Seagate Technologies to provide internships and work experience for students.

A number of general education classes will be offered, along with classes on biomedical devices and 3D printing. In addition, two programs will be offered only at the Sunnyvale location: childcare development and a paramedical/EMT program. Several classrooms are outfitted with laptops and computers at every seat and have built-in ceiling projectors.

“Because we serve all students, we’re open access, and a lot of our students don’t have the technology we’re used to having. The fact that they can come here and use this [technology] is awesome,” Hanstein said.

The school also offers a geographic information system laboratory where students can work toward a GIS program certificate.

The campus replaces Foothill’s former satellite at Palo Alto’s Cubberley Community Center, which was leased for 20 years. The new campus sits on nine acres given to the college for free through a public benefit conveyance program.

College district officials think the location of the new campus will be helpful for students.

“Since we’re on the 280 highway corridor and our sister college De Anza is too, it was strategic to put it here because we’re along the 101 [highway] corridor. We’re really trying to make it that you can be here; you don’t have to traipse across town to be on campus,” said Hanstein.

Victoria Kezra is a reporter covering Sunnyvale. She is a Syracuse University alumna and has previously written for The Syracuse New Times, The Daily Beast and The Jerusalem Post. She never seems to have enough milk in her house.